Động vật: Garden ant

ANT John Woodward GMUC_Ant_FNL.indd 1/6/10 2:21:53 PM Ant © 2010 by Infobase Publishing All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher For information contact: Chelsea Clubhouse An imprint of Chelsea House 132 West 31st Street New York, NY 10001 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Woodward, John, 1954Ant / John Woodward p cm (Garden minibeasts up close) ISBN 978-1-60413-896-2 (hardcover) ISBN 978-1-4381-3297-6 (e-book) Ant Juvenile literature I Title II Series: Woodward, John, 1954- Garden minibeasts up close QL568.F7W688 2010 595.79’6 dc22 2009044419 Chelsea Clubhouse books are available at special discounts when purchased in bulk quantities for businesses, associations, institutions, or sales promotions Please call our Special Sales Department in New York at (212) 967-8800 or (800) 322-8755 You can find Chelsea Clubhouse on the World Wide Web at http://www.chelseahouse.com Produced for Chelsea House by Discovery Books Managing Editor: Laura Durman Project Editor: Colleen Ruck Designer: Blink Media Illustrator: Stuart Lafford Photo acknowledgments: FLPA: pp (Minden Pictures), ( Konrad Wothe/Minden Pictures), 10 (Mark Moffett/Minden Pictures), 11 (Minden Pictures), 15 (B Borrell Casals), 25 (Mark Moffett/Minden Pictures); Getty Images: p 24 (Jeff Foott); Istockphoto.com: pp (txe), 12 (Cabezonication), 17 (Paul Tessier), 23 (bsj), 28 (JordiDelgado); Photoshot: p 26 (John Cancalosi@NHPA); Shutterstock Images: pp (Andrey Pavlov), (orionmystery@flickr), 14 (Beneda Miroslav), 19 (Ivanov), 27 (Mark William Penny), 29 (Andrew Pavlov); Dale Ward: pp 13, 16, 18, 20, 21, 22, 23 Cover printed by Bang Printing, Brainerd, MN Book printed and bound by Bang Printing, Brainerd, MN Date printed April 2010 Printed in the United States of America 10 This book is printed on acid-free paper All links and Web addresses were checked and verified to be correct at the time of publication Because of the dynamic nature of the Web, some addresses and links may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid GMUC_Ant_FNL.indd 5/17/10 10:08:45 AM Contents GMUC_Ant_FNL.indd Finding ants An ant’s body Jaws and stings Colonies and queens 10 Nests 12 Eggs and young 14 Taking wing 16 Senses 18 Ant wars 20 Hunting for food 22 Food from plants 24 Honey farmers 26 Ants and people 28 Glossary 30 Further resources 31 Index 32 1/6/10 2:21:54 PM Finding ants Ants can live almost anywhere They make nests in most gardens, backyards, and even city streets GMUC_Ant_FNL.indd Did You Know? Some plants such as acacia and cecropia trees provide ants with special places to live In exchange, the ants drive away other animals that eat the plants’ leaves Ants can get almost anywhere, from deep underground to the tops of garden plants and even tall trees 1/6/10 2:21:55 PM Three garden ants struggle home from a kitchen raid They have stolen a tiny lump of stale bread Some, such as the little black ant, rely on people for most of their food They often raid houses for scraps that they carry back to their outdoor nests A few types of ants may even live in houses, burrowing into timber and badly weakening it Ants are active all year round in warm countries and heated buildings, but they lie low in cold winters GMUC_Ant_FNL.indd 1/6/10 2:21:57 PM An ant’s body You’ve probably seen ants scurrying across the ground or disappearing into their nests An ant’s armored body is split into three sections At the front is the head Here you will find the ants’ eyes, jaws, and antennae, or feelers The middle part is called the thorax All of the ant’s legs are attached to this These fire ants look like strings of shiny brown beads on legs Ants all live in colonies that can contain many thousands of insects GMUC_Ant_FNL.indd 1/6/10 2:21:59 PM Did You Know? At the back is a rounded segment called the abdomen In most ants, the abdomen contains a stinger Most ants are tiny The smallest are less than one-fifth of an inch long But the prehistoric giant ant grew up to two inches long Modern Australian bulldog ants can be almost as big, with jaws to match! Abdomen Thorax Eye Head Jaws Legs Antenna GMUC_Ant_FNL.indd 1/6/10 2:22:02 PM Jaws and stings Even a little black ant has fearsome jaws They are strong enough to bite another ant in half Have you ever been bitten by an ant? All ants have biting jaws They use these to gather food and build their nests Some types of ant have very big, strong jaws They use them as weapons, or to crush seeds Many also have stings in their tails that inject a very painful venom GMUC_Ant_FNL.indd 1/6/10 2:22:04 PM Did You Know? Ants use their jaws and stings to attack and drive away any animals or people that threaten their nests Some ants also use them to kill prey Red ants and carpenter ants not have stings They defend their nests by spraying a type of acid from their tails These red ants are spraying acid from their tails to warn off enemies and defend their nest GMUC_Ant_FNL.indd 1/6/10 2:22:05 PM Senses Have you ever watched ants rushing around and bumping into things, or each other? Many ants have quite big eyes and good vision Others are almost blind, but they The long, sensitive antennae of can smell using their this wood ant allow it to follow antennae They use scent trails These can lead the ant to food, or back to its nest these to sniff out food and to pick up scent signals produced by other ants The scent tells them whether the others are friends or enemies 18 GMUC_Ant_FNL.indd 18 1/6/10 2:22:18 PM Did You Know? Foraging ants also lay scent trails that other ants can follow to find food This is why you often see ants walking in lines, sometimes with two-way traffic Ants use scent to raise the alarm A crushed ant releases a special scent that makes other ants rush to the scene and attack any enemy— even a human A pair of wood ants check out a lump of sugar They are able to taste its sweetness with their antennae 19 GMUC_Ant_FNL.indd 19 1/6/10 2:22:19 PM Ant wars Ants are very aggressive toward other ants that not belong to their colony They attack and kill lone ants from other nests and often eat them Some species, such as the pavement ant, invade and take over neighboring ant colonies These raids can lead to sidewalk battles that leave thousands of ants dead 20 GMUC_Ant_FNL.indd 20 Although it is bigger than they are, this harvester ant stands no chance against these twelve attackers They will certainly kill it 1/6/10 2:22:21 PM This slavemaker ant is carrying a stolen wood ant pupa back to its nest When the pupa hatches it will become a slave worker Other ants invade nearby colonies to steal eggs or young ants They carry them back to their own nests and raise them as slave workers Did You Know? Some slave-raiding ants have lost the ability to find their own food They must capture other types of worker ants to the job for them 21 GMUC_Ant_FNL.indd 21 1/6/10 2:22:22 PM Hunting for food Many ants are fierce hunters They swarm over the ground and up trees and attack other insects such as caterpillars and grasshoppers They then kill them with their stings or sharp jaws Ants may even kill bigger animals if they are unable to escape A trap-jaw ant drags an unlucky lacewing back to its nest Unlike some prey, it is small enough to be carried whole 22 GMUC_Ant_FNL.indd 22 1/6/10 2:22:24 PM Did You Know? Legionary ants are a type of army ant They have been known to kill hens in chicken houses The ants swarm over the hen and sting it to death Hungry ants swarm over the remains of a crushed snail Soon only the pieces of shell will be left Ants tear their prey apart and carry the pieces back to their nest They also the same to any scraps they find, especially around our homes They can rapidly reduce dead animals to just bare bones 23 GMUC_Ant_FNL.indd 23 1/6/10 2:22:25 PM Food from plants Some ants such as harvester ants and big-headed ants eat plant material They especially like seeds, which keep well when they are stored in the nest This helps the ants to survive when other food is hard to find These harvester ants have gathered some juicy green buds to provide food for the colony 24 GMUC_Ant_FNL.indd 24 1/6/10 2:22:27 PM Did You Know? Ants can lift 20 times their body weight If a 14-year-old girl was as strong as an ant, she would be able to pick up a small car! The leafcutter ants of the southern United States and tropical America gather leaf fragments and take them back to their nest They pile them up in special chambers to form a “garden” used for growing fungus The ants then eat the fungus These leafcutter ants have grown a crop of fungus on a bed of rotting leaves 25 GMUC_Ant_FNL.indd 25 1/6/10 2:22:28 PM Honey farmers Ants love nectar, honey, and other sweet liquids They are especially fond of the sugary honeydew produced by insects such as aphids Ants look for groups of aphids feeding on plants They then “milk” them like cows to collect their honeydew Did You Know? Honeypot ants stay in the nest and eat lots of honeydew brought by the workers They store the honeydew in their own bodies This causes them to swell up like balloons These ants supply the other ants in the colony when food is scarce 26 GMUC_Ant_FNL.indd 26 1/6/10 2:22:30 PM A hungry ant has just lapped up some sweet honeydew from the back end of an aphid The ants defend the aphids from enemies such as hungry ladybugs They also build shelters to protect the aphids from the weather The Texas shed-builder ant, for example, protects its aphid herds with shelters of chewed plant material 27 GMUC_Ant_FNL.indd 27 1/6/10 2:22:32 PM Ants and people Some ants are very destructive Harvester ants can wreck farm crops, and carpenter ants sometimes burrow into timber buildings, just like termites The tiny pharaoh ant nests in houses It is a serious nuisance in hospitals where it attacks food and even the wounds of injured patients! Although ants can cause problems, we admire them for their hard work and ability to act together as a team These ants are carrying seeds back to their nest 28 GMUC_Ant_FNL.indd 28 1/6/10 2:22:33 PM Did You Know? Many ants such as harvester ants and fire ants also have very powerful stings Disturbing their colonies can be as dangerous as stirring up a hornets’ nest The maricopa harvester ant has the most poisonous insect venom in the United States Being stung by just one is like being stung by 12 honeybees at once We don’t normally take much notice of ants—but maybe now you will! 29 GMUC_Ant_FNL.indd 29 1/6/10 2:22:34 PM Glossary acid: A strong chemical that can larva: The young life stage of an insect, burn through materials such as when it does most of its feeding skin and metal A caterpillar is a butterfly larva antennae: The “feelers” on the head of nectar: The scented, sugary fluid an ant, which it uses to pick up scents produced by flowers to attract animals and to feel its way around such as insects aphids: Small bugs such as greenfly that suck the sugary sap of plants armored: Covered in a tough outer layer to protect the body breeding: Able to multiply by producing young cocoon: A protective covering made of silk fiber that an insect produces from its own body colony: A group of animals that live together and often cannot survive by themselves foraging: Searching for food fungus: A type of living thing that feeds on the remains of other living things It is not a plant A mushroom is a type of fungus honeydew: A fluid produced by sap-sucking bugs that contains a lot of sugar prehistoric: Existing at a time in the past before anything was written down prey: An animal that is attacked and eaten by another animal pupa: The life stage of an insect when it changes from the young form (larva) to an adult queen: A female ant, wasp, bee, or termite that is able to produce eggs Usually there is just one in each colony scent: A strong smell segment: A section of an insect’s body that has no joints in it soldier: An ant with extra-large jaws Some use these to defend their nests venom: A poison that is used by animals such as ants, wasps, and spiders to kill their prey or defend their nests worker: A non-breeding ant, wasp, bee, or termite that builds the nest, gathers 30 GMUC_Ant_FNL.indd 30 food, and cares for the young 1/6/10 2:22:35 PM Further resources Books Birch, Robin Ants Up Close Chicago: Heinemann-Raintree, 2005 This book investigates the anatomy, features, and behavior of ants Hipp, Andrew Gardening Ants New York: Rosen Publishing, 2003 A close look at the amazing leafcutter ants that grow fungus gardens in their enormous underground nests Markle, Sandra Army ants Minneapolis: Lerner Publications, 2005 Find out about these tropical ants that are part of nature’s clean-up crew Prischmann, Deirdre Ants Mankato: Capstone Publishers, 2005 Find out all about ants, including where they come from, what they eat, and how strong they are Twist, Clint Army Ants New York: Gareth Stevens Publishing, 2006 This book explores the incredible world of army ants Web sites The University of Arizona, “Ant Information,” http://www.insected.arizona.edu/antinfo.htm Learn about ant biology and behavior, with information on how to collect them for study Pestworld For Kids, “Ants,” http://www.pestworldforkids.org/ants.html Learn about different types of ants, what they eat, what they look like, and where you might find them Dale Ward, “Ants of the Southwest” http://www.tightloop.com/ants This Web site contains lots of close-up pictures of the ants that live in the Southwest The California Academy of Sciences, “Antweb,” http://www.antweb.org/ This Web site features a slide show with close-up images of different ants from around the world A San Juan, “Leafcutter Ants,” http://www.blueboard.com/leafcutters/ An excellent site devoted to the leafcutter ants that have solved the problem of feeding their huge colonies by creating their own fungus gardens National Geographic Kids, “Trap-jaw Ants,” http://www.kids.nationalgeographic.com/Stories/AnimalsNative/Trapjawants Learn about the Trap-jaw ant—the animal with the fastest snapping jaw Also, follow the link to watch a video of leafcutter ants at work 31 GMUC_Ant_FNL.indd 31 1/6/10 2:22:35 PM Index antennae 6, 18, 19 aphids 26–27 nests 4, 6, 9, 12–13, 15, 16, 28 building 8, 10 damage 14 brown ants 13 food 5, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 28 bulldog ants nesting sites 17 rivalry 20, 21 carpenter ants 9, 17, 28 scent trails 18 cocoons 15 colonies 6, 10–11, 20, 24, 26, 29 pavement ants 20 invading 21 pests 5, 28–29 new 14, 17 pharaoh ants 28 plants 4, 24, 26, 27 eggs 10, 13, 14–15, 16, 21 prey 9, 22–23 eyes 6, 7, 18 pupae 15, 21 fire ants 6, 10, 29 queen ants 10–11, 13, 14, 16, 17 food 11, 15, 24–25, 26–27 finding 5, 18, 19, 21, 22–23 red ants 9, 13 gathering 8, 10, 24 honeydew 26–27 scent signals 18–19 hunting 22–23 seeds 8, 24, 28 storing 13, 24 shed-builder ants 27 fungus 25 slavemaker ants 21 soldier ants 11 harvester ants 20, 24, 28, 29 stings 7, 8–9, 22, 23, 29 honeydew 26–27 honeypot ants 26 trap-jaw ants 22 hunting 22–23 wings 16–17 jaws 6-7, 8–9, 22 wood ants 18, 19, 21 worker ants 10–11, 14, 15, 17, 21, 26 larvae 11, 15 leafcutter ants 16, 25 legionary ants 13, 23 32 GMUC_Ant_FNL.indd 32 1/6/10 2:22:35 PM ... GMUC _Ant_ FNL.indd Did You Know? Some plants such as acacia and cecropia trees provide ants with special places to live In exchange, the ants drive away other animals that eat the plants’ leaves Ants... of wood ants check out a lump of sugar They are able to taste its sweetness with their antennae 19 GMUC _Ant_ FNL.indd 19 1/6/10 2:22:19 PM Ant wars Ants are very aggressive toward other ants that... dead animals to just bare bones 23 GMUC _Ant_ FNL.indd 23 1/6/10 2:22:25 PM Food from plants Some ants such as harvester ants and big-headed ants eat plant material They especially like seeds,